Salina

• The city is evaluating the installation of a temporary four-way stop to manage rush-hour congestion until a permanent $2.3 million improvement project begins in 2027. →
• A new grant will allow the city to synchronize traffic signals along Ninth Street, reducing red lights for motorists traveling at the speed limit. →
• Salina’s 50th Annual Smoky Hill River Festival returns to Oakdale Park for a four-day arts celebration from June 11 to 14, 2026. With only 50 days until kickoff, the milestone event marks half a century of local art and community tradition. →
• Organizers are urgently seeking volunteers for the upcoming Smoky Hill River Festival to fill roles in parking, admission gates, and children's activity zones. →
• The city will unveil 24 new public art pieces during the annual SculptureTour Salina UNwrapped event in early May at the City Lights Stage plaza. →
• A new exhibit at The Garage Automotive Museum will showcase the 1970s origins of the Smoky Hill River Festival, featuring original t-shirts, buttons, and the commission's first public art purchase. →
• A 26-year-old driver was arrested for DUI and transporting an open container after crashing into a traffic light in north Salina late Tuesday night. Austin Houk was booked into the Saline County Jail following a medical evaluation for minor injuries sustained in the wreck. →
• Salina Central High School has promoted alumnus and English teacher Trey Cullins to head cross country coach. After three seasons as an assistant, Cullins will now lead the program he once competed for as a student-athlete. →
• Maize extended its winning streak to nine games with a 5-3 and 9-4 doubleheader sweep over South on Tuesday. The losses drop the Cougars to 4-11 overall as they head into their next matchup on a four-game skid. →
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers extended a major repair project at Kanopolis Dam into July to add extra erosion protection, resulting in the closure of the nearby campground through the Fourth of July holiday. →
• Expect a warm, breezy day with highs near 82 and some morning drizzle, followed by a slight chance for a stray severe thunderstorm this afternoon.

🌾 Kansas

• The Kansas City Royals unveiled plans for a $1.9 billion downtown ballpark at Crown Center, requiring $600 million from Kansas City taxpayers, hundreds of millions from the state, and at least $800 million from the team. →

• At least three Kansas schools were evacuated Wednesday after bomb threats, including Wichita's Southeast High School, Hutchinson's Central Christian School, and Buhler USD 313's Union Valley Elementary, with no devices found. →

• Kansas State University plant pathologist Kelsey Andersen Onofre is urging wheat growers to scout fields for stripe, leaf, and stem rust as the spring disease window opens and the crop breaks dormancy. →

• Great Bend High School revived Community Service Day Wednesday with 900 students and staff completing 36 projects across the city, resuming a tradition last held in 2019. →

• Local groups in Hays are working to install a $350,000 weather radar near the airport to fill an 80-mile gap that leaves Ellis County with limited low-altitude storm data, with $50,000 raised and two of three grants secured. →

🇺🇸 US

• A U.S. Navy destroyer is escorting an Iranian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after Iranian forces seized two cargo vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, straining a cease-fire President Trump extended Tuesday. →

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy Secretary John Phelan on Wednesday after months of infighting over shipbuilding reform and attempts to bypass the chain of command. →

• Republicans fear President Trump's push last summer to redraw congressional district lines has backfired after Virginia voters approved an aggressive Democratic gerrymander and California adopted a favorable redistricting map. →

• Dem-aligned House Majority PAC reserved $272 million in television and digital advertising for November's midterms, targeting Republican-held seats from Miami to Phoenix as Democrats aim to capitalize on Trump's declining approval ratings. →

• Chinese manufacturers are moving beyond low-cost goods into advanced industries including electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries, threatening producers across developed economies with massive scale and government subsidies. →

Weather

APRIL 23, 1985: NEW COKE DEBUTS IN A MARKETING DISASTER

Coca-Cola replaced its 99-year-old formula with a sweeter “New Coke” to fend off Pepsi, but loyal customers revolted, flooding the company with thousands of angry calls and letters. Just 79 days later, the company restored the original formula as Coca-Cola Classic, and New Coke became a symbol of high-profile product flops.

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